We love IKEA! Be sure to RSVP and Save some $ or try your chance to Win $!

“IKEA Orlando is looking forward to hosting our third BYOF event. This is a great shopping event for you and your bestie to have a fun day out – whether you always visit or have always wanted to visit our store,” said Kendra Ferguson, IKEA Orlando’s Local Marketing Specialist. “To learn more about the local offerings for BYOF, look at our agenda online and follow @IKEAOrlando on Twitter.”

On March 8, 2014, IKEA, the Life Improvement Store, will host its third BYOF (Bring Your Own Friends) Day, a national* in-store event that offers IKEA fans and their friends a special shopping experience, which includes exclusive deals, in-store activities and giveaways. The day is designed as a special reward for IKEA loyalists and their friends.

Consumers can visit IKEA-USA.com/BYOF to create a custom invitation asking friends to join them on BYOF Day and print special offers to be used in-store on event day. For each RSVP, IKEA will make a one dollar donation to Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success program (up to $50,000). New this year, RSVP and be eligible for a chance to win one of four $500 IKEA gift cards.*

“At IKEA, we love to share the excitement and uniqueness of IKEA with both our loyalists and our newbies,” says Lisa Allen, IKEA U.S., Product Public Relations. “BYOF Day has been a wonderful opportunity to capture everything fans love about IKEA in-store, and allow them to share the experience with their family and friends.”

BYOF Day participants can look forward to the following in-store offerings:

Food Freebies: Friends love to bond over food, and IKEA makes it even easier on BYOF Day with coupons for free breakfast (and free coffee for IKEA FAMILY members!). Foodies can take advantage of $5 of $25 at the Swedish Food Market with coupon and enjoy buy one get one free desserts with coupon. Hungry for more? Customers can take advantage of our Eat for Free offer with home furnishings purchases over $150. Check out IKEA-USA.com/BYOF for complete details on all BYOF Day offers for foodie friends.

· Free Blue Bags: Redeem a coupon for a free IKEA blue bag during this shopping event. The quintessential large, reusable bag is flexible, lightweight and easy to clean. It’s an ideal companion to transport anything from groceries to laundry to a new rug from IKEA!

· Big Discounts on BILLY: This year, fans and friends that are also IKEA FAMILY members will receive an exclusive discount on an iconic IKEA product – the 32X80” BILLY bookcase in brown, medium brown or birch (marked down to $59.99 from $79.99). This offer is valid for BYOF Day only. Check out IKEA FAMILY for more exclusive offers throughout March and all year round.

· Tips & Tidbits from an IKEA Professional: Have a design dilemma in your home? IKEA experts will be hosting DIY tutorials throughout the day covering a variety of topics from home design to storage solutions.

· Twitter Sweepstakes: Want even more chances to win? Join Twitter and follow your local store’s twitter handle for details on the IKEA BYOF Picture Hunt Sweepstakes and BYOF Day activities in your nearest store. See your local store for their specific rules. Every store is giving away one $1,000 IKEA gift card in the sweepstakes.

Beyond this one-day special event, IKEA shoppers can continue to get more out of each IKEA store visit by becoming an IKEA FAMILY member. The free membership includes perks like special discounts, gift card giveaway entries with each purchase, free coffee and tea in the IKEA Restaurant and more. On BYOF Day, shoppers will have the opportunity to sign up for the free, ongoing rewards program.

IKEA strives to be ‘The Life Improvement Store,’ and since its 1943 founding in Sweden, has offered home furnishings of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 340 IKEA stores in 43 countries/territories, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings company, incorporates sustainable efforts into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, go to IKEA-USA.com.